Introduction
Mobile application industry is
vast and is only expected to grow in the coming years. In fact, research
suggests that the total value of the mobile app industry will increase
to $188.9 billion in 2020.
With this growth, the market
will be very profitable. You can make a mobile app for your own enterprise or
you can start a career in mobile app developing.
You don’t have to go back to
college and study for a computer science degree. Of course, you can do that,
but it will take a lot of time and money. That’s why we have decided to lay out
an actionable guide for you to become an app developer.
Choose One Of The
Major Plateform
The very first step towards
learning to develop a mobile application is to choose a major platform. You
will find plenty, such as Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, and Blackberry RIM.
However, it’s clear that Android and iOS are dominating the mobile industry.
Window 10 apps may still be relevant, but it’s still not the most profitable
platform. Thus, it would be a wise choice to start your journey by opting
either for iOS apps or Android apps.
One is entirely different from
the other. You need to consider which one you want to specialize in. Of course,
you can attempt to master everything, but that’s not recommended. It’s better
to cover only one, and then gradually expand your horizon to include other app
developing platform as well.
Learn Essential
Background Skills
To be a mobile app developer,
one must possess the required software development skills and knowledge.
But before you dive into the
world of programming, it’s important that you answer one simple question
Where exactly are you starting from?
There could be three scenarios
to it.
- You are
a web developer who is looking to learn mobile app development. In that
case, you will find many useful platforms that will help you transit to mobile
app development such as Appcelerator Titanium.
- You may
not have done any coding before, but you have a basic idea of how
object-oriented programming works. In that case, it would be easy for you
to understand and learn how developing a mobile app works.
- You are
an absolute beginner. In that case, it’s best to take up a short
introductory course on computer science. You can easily find such courses
online on sites like Coursera, edX, etc., and that too
for free.
Mastering The
Coding Skills
Once you have chosen your
platform, the next you need to do it learn its core concepts.
For iOS,
You will need to learn
either Swift or Objective-C. But how do you choose? That depends
solely on the reason why you are learning mobile app development.
If you are learning to develop
apps to create your own products, then Swift would be a wise choice. Swift was
introduced in 2014 and since then, it has received mostly positive feedback.
However, if you are planning
to become an iOS developer for a mobile app development company, the best
choice might to learn Objective-C first. Primarily because tons of
documentation is meant for Objective-C, and there are still thousands of iOS
apps out there built with Objective-C. You may need it to maintain or fix the
code.
Apple offers the iOS
Developer Library, which is very well-documented. You will find many
tutorials and videos to help you learn to code. It helps you break down the
complexity of iOS development program into small basic parts for easy understanding.
In fact, there are many great blogs on iOS development.
For Android,
To develop apps on the Android
platform, you need to know Java or Kotlin. For those who have no
clue how it works, you will need an introductory course to the programming language
Java. The best place to begin is Google’s Android Developer Library. Again,
these are extremely well-documented and have a comprehensive set of training
materials.
Before you decide to choose
Android, you should be aware of the fact that there are many different types of
Android devices on the market. It can cause a bit of complication in the
beginning. But once you get past it, you will have the potential to reach a
wider market.
Furthermore, you can also
subscribe to Android Weekly Newsletter to stay updated on the latest software.
Using Mobile App
Development Software
One more alternative to
developing an app for your own product is by making use of mobile development
software. You don’t even require coding, and it usually has thousands of
templates to get you started.
Practice Your
Skills
Knowing how to write code is
simply the beginning of building an app. The best result comes from writing and
practicing clean code and documentation. This is how you can organize your
practice session:
Develop an App
Idea
Start by developing an app
idea. Find out the problems that people are facing in daily life. List them
out, and shortlist the one that makes the most sense. And once you have
decided, start mapping out your app.
Lay Out the
Details of the App
Another important thing while
developing a protocol is to make sure that your app is easy to understand.
Users should be able to figure the navigation without any reference to other
pages. Besides, you need to figure out the features of the app as well. It’s
crucial that you build an excellent user interface if you want your users to
stick around.
Collaborate or
Hire the People You Need
When you are starting, it may
not be possible for you to develop the complete app all by yourself. For
instance, you may be good at coding but may lack the design skills. It’s better
to take help from someone who is already an expert in the field.
Test Your App
Once you have completed
developing the app, you need to go to the testing part. Bugs are unavoidable in
first cut of any software.
You can have your friends
download the app and let them play through it. If they notice any glitches,
they can communicate the same to you. The feedback will help you learn what
works and what doesn’t in an app.
